I'm home
by Wolfling21
Summary: Spoilers for season 5 finale. After daryl returns to find chaos has ensued while he was away, He spends some time with Rick and finally realizes why he could never settle in before.


_**Author: omg so much going on the season finale! And that all spawned this. Love the bromance! I own nobody! Spoilers ahead**_

I sit out on the porch, smoking a cigarette as Rick &amp; Morgan catch up inside.

The door opens behind me and Carl steps out with Judith in his arms.

"C'mere little Asskicker." I chuckle, grinding my cigarette out in my coffee can ashtray.

Judith giggles, coos then sneezes as Carl hands her to me.

"I know. I smell like blood, walkers and smoke." I tell the baby who pats my face with a smile.

"She seems like she misses you when you leave." Carl whispers, sitting down next to us.

"Maybe." I mutter, settling Judith in my lap so I can shrug off my vest.

Carl cocks his head a bit like Rick does and says, "She knows you. I'm pretty sure she knows you took care of her right after mom.."

The kid ducks his head a bit, hiding his emotions in the shadows.

"We all miss your mom kid." I whisper, reaching out to carefully squeeze his shoulder.

Lori and I hadn't really gotten along well until just before we found the prison but I had felt her loss, same as everyone else.

Judith squealed as the porch light clicked off and the front door opened.

"Carl." Rick called softly.

I squint, trying to see if he had cleaned up or not as Carl got up to go inside.

"Go brush your teeth and get ready for bed. I'll bring Judith up soon." Rick told his son.

"Sure dad." Carl agreed softly, disappearing into the house.

I glanced down at the baby in my lap who had gotten distracted by my bootlaces.

"Daryl." Rick whispered.

Slowly I looked back up as Rick headed back into the house, leaving the door open.

I didn't have a house of my own and had spent most of my time sleeping on other people's floors, couches or porches.

But I usually stuck around Rick's house and seldom went inside unless I was invited.

"Daryl." Rick called again from inside.

"C'mon girly." I whispered, picking Judith up and kicking off my boots before I headed in.

The house was nice... Nicer than anywhere I ever lived. But it didn't really feel much like a home. There wasn't anything really personal sitting around to claim it as belonging to Rick, Carl and the baby.

"Have you eat?" Rick asked as I wandered into the kitchen.

Have I?

Good question.

Probably not.

"Nah. Went hungry for so long... Forgot what it felt like." I admit.

"Carol's been making sure we stay fed. Help yourself." He said, opening the oven to pull out some sort of casserole.

I sniff the casserole, deciding it seems safe enough before handing Judith off to her father and digging in.

While I eat, Rick feeds Judith and tells me everything that's happened since I was gone.

I shake my head when he tells me how he fell for a married woman but I'm hesitant to compare him to Shane.

I've got more respect for Rick than that.

When he tells me how Pete was hitting his wife and probably his son, I go tense.

It reminds me a little too much of how my father would beat me and Merle as kids.

"Daryl?" Rick asks quietly.

"I'm fine. Bastard was lucky you got to him before I did." I growl.

If I had cared enough at the time, I would have probably beat the shit out of Carol's ex husband for putting his hands on Carol and Sophia.

Rick nods and drops the subject, instead getting up to go put Judith in her crib.

"C'mon." He whispers, nodding to the stairs.

I follow him upstairs slowly and watch as he settles Judith down for the night.

She fusses a little bit until I reach over and brush a wild strand of hair from her face then she coos happily.

"Judith's in her crib sleeping." Rick whispers to Carl who's in the room next door, probably reading comics.

"Thanks for dinner. I outta go find a place to crash." I tell Rick as we head back downstairs.

"No you don't." Rick says, squinting at me in the dark.

I raise an eyebrow and he whispers, "I need you to stick around. I don't know what's gonna happen now after Pete, Denna's husband... The walkers... Everything."

"A'right." I shrug.

It feels strange to not be sleeping on someone's couch or just drifting on a porch... But I'll deal with it.

My family... my brother... My nephew and baby niece... They need me here at home.


End file.
